4:27pm

State Capitol

Bright Spots in Budget Plan

Kentucky’s latest budget proposal appears to be all doom and gloom, but that’s not entirely the case. Governor Steve Beshear did propose deep cuts to many state agencies in this year’s budget. But he also left some funds available for bright spots. Two appropriations Beshear made were for free colon cancer screenings for the uninsured and to create an adult abuse registry.

State Rep. Jim Glenn is the sponsor of free colon cancer screenings legislation. For several years he’s pushed for $8 million to fund the program. So he’s happy with Beshear’s decision.

“I’m going to continue asking for the eight million, but I am really happy," Glenn says. "And I really welcome the governor’s appropriation of two million dollars, which is one million state and then one million from a private organization.”

In the past, both proposals have failed because of their price tags. But Beshear says with those excuses now gone, both bills should become law.

With the governor, not a lawmaker, advocating for the proposals, they're likely to remain in the final budget, says state Rep. Carl Rollins. Rollins is sponsoring legislation for the adult abuse registry. The bill has been carried by various Democratic lawmakers over the years.

“If the governor put it in there’s a better chance that it will stay in," Rollins says. "But that doesn’t mean it will stay in. So we’ll be fighting to keep it in.”